AN MP wants an investigation into the alleged misuse of funds by a development group.

Ashok Kumar, MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, will meet Sir John Bourne, of the National Audit Office (NAO), to discuss allegations about the former Teesside Development Company.

The meeting follows a report on the company by the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions.

In the Commons last week, Dr Kumar drew attention to issues he felt should be investigated by the NAO, including the use of a city grant for a Stockton development that went bankrupt, the possible "double counting" of assets and the use of grant money to set up an environmental trust in Stockton.

He said last night: "I have decided to refer these matters to the National Audit Office, as I feel they will be prepared to look seriously at the allegations raised.

"The NAO has already had experience of dealing with the financial legacy of urban development corporations elsewhere in the country, and I feel that the potential seriousness of some of these matters deserves further investigation."

Dr Kumar will be accompanied at the meeting, on Wednesday, by Dari Taylor, the Stockton South MP.